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POLITICO 44

Pollsters consider the race a tossup between Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Dona Ana County GOP District Attorney Susana Martinez. With less than three months to go, the candidates are jockeying for position on who’s best suited when it comes to executive leadership, energy and rooting out corruption.

It’s the latter issue that has significant resonance in New Mexico, where about a dozen high-ranking state officials have been under investigation and in some cases received jail time. Federal probes into Richardson’s own bidding practices derailed his bid to serve in the Obama administration, a point Martinez is highlighting wherever she goes.

“Why did [Denish] remain silent when so much corruption was surrounding her?” the Republican said in an interview Saturday outside an Albuquerque coffee shop.

“People wanted to hear that she was different, but she didn’t” speak out, Martinez added.

Denish told POLITICO from her campaign’s downtown headquarters that it’s Martinez who has to answer for her own “sweetheart” deals, as reported earlier this month in the Albuquerque Journal. Most notably, Martinez paid a former top aide $60,000 for office supplies without a contract or competitive bidding process.

“I’ve never been investigated,” Denish said. “I’ve never been called by any investigative agency. Her rhetoric doesn’t match her attacks. ... I’m not taking any lectures from her.”

Yet despite Denish’s arguments, observers said that she’s the one with the most explaining to do because of her connections to the current administration.

“Sometimes, I think Richardson is her first name,” said Joe Monahan, an independent Albuquerque-based political blogger.

“Denish fairly or unfairly is tied to him,” said Martha Mauritson, managing editor of the Carlsbad Current-Argus. “She gets some jeers that probably belong to him. But she’s going to get them because she’s been standing there next to him.”

Martinez has a formula to follow if she’s going to win in Democrat-dominated New Mexico. Republicans have been successful statewide before by winning independent and conservative Democratic votes, most recently with GOP Govs. Gary Johnson and Garrey Carruthers and six-term Sen. Pete Domenici, who retired in 2009.

“The lay of the land breaks to Democrats, but we’ve had Republican governors, and we usually get them when the natives are restless,” Monahan said.

Ethnicity is another critical factor this November, with Hispanics constituting more than half the state’s registered voters. Most are Democratic, but it’s unclear how they’ll respond to Martinez, who would become the nation’s first female Hispanic governor if she wins.

“The ethnic juices are in reverse,” said Jose Garcia, a prominent New Mexico State University political science professor who has endorsed Martinez. “What nobody knows is how much ethnic loyalty is going to prevail.”

Whoever wins, New Mexico is poised to make history with its first female governor. And both want that distinction. On the campaign trail, they say education is their top priority while quickly defining their differences — both with each other and with Richardson.

Readers' Comments (7)

It sounds as though Ms. Martinez, as governor, would be a lot like George W. Bush. He shot low ranking Texas into the top 5 as Dirtiest US States (or Biggest State Polluters). He made relatively clean Houston the number one dirtiest city in the United States (dethroning perennial king, smog-blanketed L.A.). How did he do this so quickly? He didn't enforce Clean Air laws; he let companies "police" themselves. Ms. Martinez plans to get rid of those laws in New Mexico. This woman says she, as D.A., often relies on experts and scientists, yet she doubts the human influence on global warming? Something is screwy there. Finally, her office management and bookkeeping practices are not ones I would vote for; you put ALL contracts up for competitive bid (to save taxpayers money) and as a lawyer, she certainly should know you don't hand out substantial sums without explicit terms in a contract -- get it in writing! And a sweetheart, no-bid, cut check to a former employee?! Another way she's like Bush (Cheney/Halliburton).

Martinez has little solutions for the poor state of New Mexico. Her ideas are the typical Republican answer for any problem: tax cuts and cut spending. How brilliant! That will really get the economy in New Mexico humming. Actually Bill Richardson has done a great deal for our state. He has brought in the movie industry and encouraged job-making incentives for other businesses. Agreed he is a blowhard at times, but definitely has the gravitas to tout our state as a good place for jobs. Martinez comes from the very sparsely populated, extremely conservative (Texas-like) southern New Mexico where gun-toting is a must. To be a governor of a New Mexico and deny climate-change is absurd. Water here is one of our biggest issues.

Diane Denish is an advocate for families and children. She is a pragmatist. She has dealt with our state as a whole and recognizes the many needs that we have. Pre-K for children....how radical!

Martinez has little solutions for the poor state of New Mexico. Her ideas are the typical Republican answer for any problem: tax cuts and cut spending.

The fact is that Richardson and the legislators pushed the climate tax on the businesses in New Mexico, and the result was companies shutting their doors in NM and setting up shop in any other state - except CA. Of course the jobs available dwindled. The only way you are going to attract business to your state is by reducing the corporate taxes and offering incentives. Until then, those living in poverty or are unemployed in NM will only continue to rise.

Denish is running under the failed economic policies of Richardson and the national Democrats. When you add RIchardson's policies with the federal's failed policies, you have a bankrupted New Mexico - while SOME of the neighboring states have a better standard of living - because they are more friendly to small businesses.

The only way for NM to pull itself up is to stop re-electing the same type of people who only offer more of the same solution - raising taxes and increasing regulations on the people and on small businesses.

Bill Richardson is Barack Obama in a bolo tie and about three hundred pounds heavier: Same big government, deficit spending, that most Ameicans and I'm sure most New Mexicans are opposed to. Diane Denish has been a rubber stamp and lock step with Richardson in driving New Mexico's fiscal house to the ground. Go Susuan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

If corruption by public officials in New Mexico is the main issue of the gubernatorial campaign, it stands to reason that a Democrat cannot expect to be the one to clean it up. After all, the termed out governor is a Democrat and his administration was composed of Democrats. If a Democrat succeeds him, it is irrational to believe she would put much emphasis on rooting out the corruption of the previous Democrat governor and his cohorts.

In another lifetime, I worked for a company headquartered in Albuquerque, NM. Thankfully, that chapter of my life is now CLOSED.

Here's what I learned during my two years, spending a lot of it in Albuquerque:

1) It is essentially a SANCTUARY STATE.

2) The biggest problem in placing native New Mexicans in high paying jobs at the nuclear labs (Sandia, Los Alamos, etc.) is the prevalence of DUI, which normally will preclude the granting of a security clearance.

3) Just the petty, city level corruption is so ubiquitous that the natives don't pay much attention to it anymore.